Comparison between surgery and definitive chemoradiotherapy for patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a propensity score analysis

Purpose Our intent was to compare survival following neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery versus chemoradiotherapy (CRT) among patients with potentially resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods Information about 406 consecutive esophageal cancer patients with resectable disease who underwent surgery with neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil or who underwent definitive CRT was reviewed. The survival outcomes were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and propensity score-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. Relevant variables were included in the propensity score model. Results Overall, 206 patients planned to undergo surgery (S group) and 200 patients planned to undergo CRT (CRT group). In the unadjusted situation, progression-free survival and overall survival did not differ statistically between the groups. After matching, both survival outcomes were better in the S group compared to the CRT group. Subanalysis showed both survival outcomes were better in the S group for patients with only stage III disease. However, survival outcomes for stages I, II, and IV were not significantly different between treatment groups. Conclusions Among patients with resectable disease, survival outcomes in the S group were favored over those of the CRT group. These results indicate that different therapeutic strategies should be used for stage III esophageal cancer than for other stages.